I really enjoyed watching The Thin Blue Line. I think it brings out a lot of good points about truth, reality, and facts in any court case and how the "reality" for one person might be a "lie" for another person. The first thing I noticed is how the testimonies of witnesses are not always reliable because many of the people who testified seeing the face of the person who was driving had doubts about what they saw. One lady said that it was dark and foggy and she was not sure if she actually saw Adam's face or rather hair.

Biology in Society Senior Seminar

Bryn Mawr College, Fall 2010

Session 8

Whaling

Questions:

Should whaling be regulated by an international body?

Should whale conservation be a priority? Should whales be managed as a resource in the same way we manage other fisheries or are whales somehow special?

 F for Fake for me was not about trickery and truth, it was about a search for legitimacy and fulfillment for an artists work.  The most powerful part of F for Fake is Orson Welles' montage about Chartres cathedral..."one anonymous glory of all things."  Orson Welles demonstrates that in our societies hurried attempt to attach our name to our works we have forgone the opportunity to create art as an anonymous "celebration."  

Biology in Society Senior Seminar

Bryn Mawr College, Fall 2010

Session 8

Issues Surrounding the Human Genome Project

“One thing only I know, and that is that I know nothing.” – Socrates

Questions:

 David Harris’s interview underscores the fact that everyone has his or her own reality. Even though the documentary makes the point that Adams was not guilty of shooting the police officer, Harris seemed to have convinced himself that Adams was. In his panic, Harris convinced himself of something that wasn’t true. The documentary also brings up the point that “truth” is not by any means absolute. One of the interviewees even said that any attorney can find a guilty man guilty. It takes talented attorney to prove an innocent man guilty. In a court of law whether someone is truly innocent or guilty has no bearing on the outcome of the case. It merely has to do with how well a prosecutor presents his evidence.

Students in Biology in Society Senior Seminar at Bryn Mawr College write web papers on topics of interest to themselves. These are made available via links from the index below to encourage further exploration by others having similar or related interests. All papers have associated on-line forums for continuing conversation.